License plate bracket



June 10, 1941. H. BUCHANAN LICENSE PLATE BRACKET Filed April 4, l940Patented June 10, 1941 QFFICE LICENSE ?LATE BRACKET Hugh Buchanan,Detroit, Mich.,

assignor to Houdaille-Hershey Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporationof Michigan Appiication April 4, 1940, Serial No. 327,850

(Cl. L10-125) 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in license plate holders orbrackets, the object being to produce a holder or bracket more adaptedforthe :modern types of cars.

Heretofore the license plate holder or bracket has been mounted usuallyat the rear corners or the automobile frame or body, or on the bumperstructure at the ends thereof. However, in modern types of cars, thebumpers are provided with guard structures at their ends to affordprotection for the vehicle fenders and lamps or other accessoriesmounted thereon so that the license plate holder or bracket, in orderthat the license plate may be properly visible, should be mounted on thebumper intermediate the ends thereof. It is therefore the importantobject of our invention to provide a license plate holder or bracketwhich can be conveniently mounted on the bumper impact bar, preferablyat the middle thereof, and

which is constructed so that it will accommodate l all the differentsizes of license plates which are used and at the same time have noportion which would project laterally beyond the supported licenseplate, and also to so construct the holder or bracket that it willafford a certain degree of protection for the plate against impact bybumpers on other vehicles.

The improved holder or bracket is shown on the accompanying drawing, inwhich drawing:

Figure l is a front elevation of the middle portion of a bumper impactbar and the license plate holder mounted thereon;

Figure 2 is an enlarged section on plane lI--II Figure l; and

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the supporting links.

The holder structure is shown applied to a bumper impact bar I0 ofconvex transverse curvature. The holder structure comprises a body IIshown as a plate having side flanges I2 extending rearwardly therefromand having their rear edges provided with concave recesses i3 forreceiving the impact bar and iitting against the convex front facethereof. The body has the longitudinally extending channel I4 which atits middle point has the bolt hole I5 for registering with the bolt holeI6 through the impact bar located preferably midway between the upperand lower edges of the bar.

In front of the body I2 is a clamping plate ll' which is substantiallyrectangular and which is deflected to provide the longitudinallyextending channel i8 for paralleling and extending partially into thechannel I4 of the holder body, the channel having the bolt hole I9 forregistering with the bolt holes l5 and it to receive a bolt 20 whosehead engages in the channel I3 and whose threaded end receives the nut2I behind the impact bar.

The body plate I I has upper longitudinally eX- tending and alignedslots 22 therethrough, and similar lower slots y23, these slots beingbehind the clamping plate I'I. Each of the slots serves to receive aplate-holding link 24 in the form of a length of flat bar having at itsouter end a bolt hole 25 and having its inner end 26 deilected atright-angles and provided with slots 2l in its opposite edges. TheseT-shaped ends of the links extend through the respective slots 22 and23, the width of the slots being slightly greater than the width of theend 26 between the slots 2l therein so that when the links are atsubstantially right-angles with the slots 22 or 23, the ends 2S may bewithdrawn from the slots, but `when the links are at an angle with theslots the links cannot be removed therefrom but may be swung verticallyor shifted laterally. As shown, the upper two links extend upwardly fromthe body II while the lower links extend downwardly and as these linksmay readily be swung vertically or shifted laterally, they may bereadily adjusted to bring their bolt holes 25 into alignment with thebolt holes or slots 28 adjacent the upper and lower edges of the licenseplate P which is to be supported. Such mounting of the license plate onthe links and proper aligning of the plate is done While the bolt 20 isloosened. After the lplate has been mounted and has .been properlyaligned, the nut 2I is drawn up so that the clamping plate I'I will bedrawn toward the body plate I I for rigidly clamping of the supportinglinks between the body ,plate and clamping plate, and after the bolt istightened it will clamp the entire bracket structure with the licenseplate thereon securely to the bumper impact bar, and :preferably theholder structure is mounted on the impact bar at the middle thereof, Thelateral and upward extent of the body II and clamping plate I'I ispreferably such that different sizes of license plates may be eicientlysupported Ibut without any of the holder structure projecting laterallyor upwardly beyond the license plate.

In order to aiord Aprotection for the license plate against impact bybumper structure on other vehicles, the lower portion lof the body IImay be deflected outwardly to provide a guard bar iportion 29 extendinghorizontally below the license plate and, as shown, this deflected guardbar forming .portion may be of channel shape to be of greater strengthand also to present a pleasing appearance. In order to permit readyaccess for securing the license plate to the lower supporting link, theportion of the body Il above the guard bar portion 29 may be deflectedrearwardly to provide clearance space 30. With my improved arrangement,the entire bra-cket structure above the guard bar portion 29 is coveredby the license iplate so that the license plate will be fully andclearly visible at all times.

I have shown -a practical and efficient embodiment of the features of myinvention but I do not desire to be limited to the exact .constructionand arrangement shown and described as changes and modiiications may bemade without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim as follows:

1. In combination, a bumper impact bar, a holder mounted on said impactbar to support a license plate or the like comprising front and rearvertical walls and with the rear wall shaped to receive and set againstthe front face of an impact bar, links extending from between said wallsand having pin and slot connections with said rear Wall whereby to be`pivoted for bodily or swinging movement for Iadjustment of their endsinto position to have a license plate secured thereto to extend acrossthe front of said Walls,

a bolt extending through said walls and the bumper impact bar forclamping said walls and bar together and to clamp said links rigidly intheir adjusted position, and a guard bar forming part of said rear walland extending horizontally and forwardly of said walls to affordprotection for the supported license plate.

2. A holder for an automobile license plate or the like comprising frontand rear separa-ble walls, said rear Wall at its middle portion beingdeflected rearwardly to form a longitudinally extending channel, saidfront Wall along its middle `portion being deflected rearwardly to forma longitudinally extending ridge for engaging in the rear wall channelwhereby said Walls will be held -against relative vertical 'orrotational movement, said rear wall having longitudinally extendingslots above and below the channel in said-wall, links having their innerends between said walls `and ea-ch link having pin connection with oneof said slots whereby said links may be rotated or shifted bodily forsecurement at their -outer ends to a license plate to be supported, anda securing means for securing said walls together and for clamping saidlinks between them in their adjusted plate holding position.

HUGH BUCHANAN.

